Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-07-20
GERMAN OFFICERS.

missioned Portion of the Army.
An American who has just come back
from Germany treated several of us
the other evening to very interesting
monologue on the German army in
German society. When, late in the
sixteenth century, Europe began to
awake from feudalism, she did SO very
slowly, and almost regretfully. Some
Of the worst features of the feudal
regime remained, and remain even to
this day. They may present them
selves under q new aspect, assume
guise less shocking to the modern eye,
but they are essentially the same as
they were four or five hundred years
ago. In Prussia the common soldier
gets for three years service his board,
which is to express it mildly, very
plain and frugal. Besides, he gets a
remuneration of 20 pfennig-5 cents
per day. A young Lieutenant, after
graduating at five or six classic, poly.
technic and military schools, is enti-
tied to q salary of $50 marks, or S37,
a month. He is expected to provide
for his uniform, and. if he is cavalry
officer, for his horse and servant.
He has little expense in procuring a
servant, for any common servant
thinks himself happy to get position
as an officers servant, with So or 81
month. A Lieutenant from about 20
to 20 years old can not expect to be
raised to the next highest rank, which
is that of Captain, before attaining at
least his thirty-sixth year. Besides, it
is always morally certain that every
young officer has to spend four or five
years in an out-of-the way garrison i'll
some provincial town. Nevertheless, it
is fact, proved by statistics (the
favorite science of Bi.marck), that the
number of young men DESTROYS to be-
come officers in the army increases
steadily year after year.
Now, how is this to be accounted
foE? Only one reason can be given for
it, but that is ample. Every young
man who enters the army as candidate
for the citizenship, in SO doing joins
himself to the aristocracy of the land.
His uniform opens to him the way to
I, the highest circles of society. At all
court circles he is introduced into the
presence of the King or Kaiser, as the
case may be. He is invited to all the
great annual banquets, for which,
however, he is obliged to pay his share.
Thus it often happens that our Lieu
tenant dimes on several courses of airy,
but very expensive dishes, and after
feasting on truff1es and champagne
goes to a cheap restaurant to quiet the
cravings of his stomach with leber-
wurst and saurkraut, every German
officer, from the beardless Lieutenant
still in the habit of chewing candy to
the gruff-voiced Major, hopes to make
his fortune by marrying the daugh ter
of rich parvenu. An4 it is a fact
that nine out of every ten do succeed.
There is no shorter, surer, and, as far
as the young manageable maiden i:
concerned, no more agreeable way OF
becoming part of the elite than the
marriage with an officer, a young one,
if possible, but even an old one, rather
than none at a5 all. The art of firta-
ton is an accomplishment deemed alb
solutely indispensable in every off GER
Flirting is the young Lieutenant's
second nature. He firts in the salon,
in the theater, on the promenade.
Only dueling is his greater passion.
By the rules of the corps he is obliged
to accept any challenge coming
from a person not below him
ia social standing. The favorite duel
of officers is the combat of swords, so
called after the long and broad swords
used. In this duel the fighting parties
are half naked-i e., the upper half of
their bodies is exposed. If an officer is
caught dueling he is arrested and
nominally sentenced. But he never
thinks of taking this seriously. If he
refuses to accept challenge his fellow
officers compel him to leave the army,
1t is a treat to watch young Lieu
tenant while he is drilling his men.
He has four or five corporals to as
Sist him. His chief occupation is to
stand motionless, but in threatening
attitudes in the midst of the new
soldiers. He very seldom says any
thing-that would be directly sacrifice
ing his dignity. Whenever some I'M
lucky recruit or other tries in vain to
rouse himself to a due appreciation
of the glories of the soldiers life, and
the corporal uses livel1er language
than usual, our lieutenant frowns.
1t is seldom, very seldom,
that more is needed to set all things
right in a second. But even if after
the frown the refractory soldier con-
tinues 'thick-headed" the Lieutenant
takes step toward him. That is
enough. Thus far no case is known
where this extreme measure of dis
cipline had not an immediate effect.
The recruits are for the most part
country people, good and honest, but
stupid. They losk upon the officers as
superior being. 1t never comes to
their minds that he is made of the
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